Finding Home
by nattieb
Summary: How do you convince someone to let you do the impossible? Simple, prove to him you've done it once before.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

Author's Notes:

I'd blame Heather916 but I really don't blame her. This little fic has gone through more drafts than I can count (all of which Heather read) and more blood, sweat, and tears than anything else I have ever written.

The drive to the tavern was quiet, both men lost in thought as Jake navigated the well known streets of London. The meeting had been set up this afternoon and the decision to meet away from the office and without going through official channels had been a risk that Mickey was willing to take. Things had changed over the past few years. But the route that Jake took was familiar and comfortable and gave Mickey time to think about his first night on this parallel Earth and how his life had changed in the years since then.

Bad Wolf Tavern was the first place that he and Jake had stopped at after watching the TARDIS disappear three years ago. Jake thought a drink was in order after the night they had both experienced. They'd stopped at the first place they had found, empty save only a barkeep behind the counter. Jake began talking about Rickey, and Mickey realized the man still needed to mourn. Mickey listened to the stories and the background of his doppelganger with amused detachment and found himself wondering about his rash decision to leave the TARDIS and take up a dead man's life.

When Jake finished, Mickey felt compelled to talk about the man he was—to make Jake see that though he may look like Rickey, he was his own man. It was the only time he had talked about Rose, the last time he had mentioned her or the Doctor-until two weeks ago. Mickey stole a glance at Jake in the driver's seat and noticed his companion looking for a place to park the van. Jake, there was another difference. Mickey had had his mates back home, but there was something different in his relationship with Jake. There was no attraction there, he meant what he said- he wasn't taking Rickey's place, but there was something about saving the world together that bonded two people. He trusted Jake with his life and now he was trusting his judgment.

They'd visited the tavern often after that first night, finding it to be a great source of information to gauge the public mood about the Cybermen. He had sat and listened as people tried to make sense of the recent events, each theory more bizarre and unbelievable than the last, of course none of them even touched on how bizarre and unbelievable the truth was. Even though he had expected it, he hadn't been prepared for how people would react to the Cyberman invasion. They seemed restless, there seemed to be a compassion for the creatures who had once been loved ones. When Mickey had heard talk of rehabilitating those who were still shut in factories, he had broken his bottle.

He remembered finding out about one man in particular. This man had found his girlfriend outside the destroyed warehouse. She had been partially converted but still seemed to retain part of her human traits. Her boyfriend had found a way to keep her alive and began looking for ways to 'cure' her. It had been when this woman, this creature, began to kill everyone in her path that Mickey and Jake had been sent in to dispatch the problem. He had watched as the man stood in front of this thing that had once been a person, trying to save her, only to be deleted by her a moment later. Mickey and Jake had taken the shots that ended her life. No, Mickey had never forgotten the lessons he learned from Ianto Jones.

After the Cybers disappeared, two and half years ago, the public seemed to forget about them and moved on to more current topics. Mickey hadn't forgotten though. It had been his job to find them, to track them through the rip in time and space they had disappeared through. He had found them three weeks ago. They had moved across the void, that space he had fallen through years ago, and Mickey was sure they had ended up in the same universe he had come from.

Three years, and he finally had allowed himself some glimmer that he could see Rose again. He had missed her, missed her smile, missed how stubborn she could get, simply missed her. He had presented his plan to Jake as soon as he realized where the Cybermen had gone. If the Cybers could cross the void, why couldn't Torchwood do the same thing? Jake had gone quiet, then nodded and touched his ear piece to contact the director. As he and Jake entered the pub Mickey reflected on several things that he still didn't understand about his new home. People walking around with earpods in all day long only scratched the surface. Football being called soccer and curfews at night were high on the list as well. The difference that topped his list though was seated at the table in the back, waiting for him -Pete Tyler.

It had been Jake's idea to meet personally with Pete. Truthfully, Mickey still hadn't forgiven the man for his refusal of Rose. Mickey had watched her heartfelt plea, watched her reaching out for just one hug, only to have her heart broken as she watched him walk away. Mickey knew that had only served to make his own departure harsher than he had planned, and that was one thing he still hadn't forgiven himself for. Oh, he had made the right decision, there was no question about that, but he hated what it had cost Rose.

He had successfully avoided Pete Tyler for the past years. Communicating only via email and only when it was absolutely necessary. He had left any face to face contact to Jake. It had been more difficult when he and Jake had joined Torchwood, but Pete seemed just as eager to avoid Mickey's presence as Mickey was to avoid his. Mickey would have avoided this meeting too, he thought as he and Jake moved to the table, but neither Jake nor Pete had given him that choice. Taking a seat opposite Pete, Mickey only hoped Jake could convey how vital this plan was to protect his Earth as well as Rose's Earth.

Letting Jake take the lead in this informal 'meeting,' Mickey leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. Ever the operative, he scanned the crowd all the while listening to Jake present the information he had worked years to determine. Mickey wished a third party was present at this meeting, someone who might actually listen. To Pete Tyler he and Jake were still nothing more than Scooby Doo and his gang with their blue van. The conversation didn't go as Mickey had planned or even hoped. Pete seemed to have forgotten how it had been Mickey and Jake...with a little bit of help from the Doctor...who had stopped Lumic, destroyed the Cybermen, and saved one Peter Tyler from certain death. Yes, he and Jake were the first that Pete always called on, no matter the trouble, but he saw them as the brawn, only capable of leading other 'brawn.' Unfortunately, brawn was getting them nowhere tonight.

"Really boys," Pete started again after a few minutes of Jake's pleading, and the term boys made Mickey cringe. "I just don't think that it is worth the risk. The Cybers are gone. They are not our problem anymore. But if you come up with anything to fix the climate changes let me know."

Pete began to push back in his seat, ready to leave. Mickey knew enough about the man to know that the moment he walked out the door there would be no hope of ever crossing the void. This wasn't the time to stay quiet and let Jake fight his battles for him. He knew that this was something that they had to do, if only because it was the right thing. She had taught him that.

"Enough, Mr. Tyler," Mickey said, slamming the drink on the table. "You know as well as I do what those things are capable of and I am positive that what they did is what is affecting the climate!" Mickey made to stand up, throwing some money on the table to cover the bill. Jake rose with him and Mickey could tell both men were unsure what their next action should be. "There is only one man in this or any universe that can sort out this problem, and this could be the only chance we have to get him." He stared unblinking at Pete, ignoring the uncomfortable quiet that descending on the occupants of the table, willing him to understand.

It was Pete who finally broke the silence, rising from his seat, his gaze leveled at Mickey, "You think that you are really going to save the world by driving that big blue van you're so fond of across the void to the Cybers?" Pete's response was more an amused statement than it was a question and Mickey was ready to reach across the table and show this man exactly what his hired 'brawn' could do, but that voice in his head, Rose's voice, prevailed.

Instead Mickey met Pete's gaze, "Once saved the world with a big yellow truck, reckon the van might be a little easier."

Mickey refused to look away. He would leave this 'meeting' as the one with the final say; Pete Tyler would not get the better of him. After what seemed like ages Pete shook his head and laughed, his demeanor instantly changing. Sinking back in his chair he added, "A big yellow truck? Now this one I have to hear."

Mickey was dumbfounded. Moments ago this man had compared him to a cartoon dog and now here he was wanting to share drinking stories. Mickey turned to Jake, hoping to get some support from him, but Jake simply dropped back into his seat and quirked his eyebrow.

"What?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink. "I've been wondering about that story since you mentioned it that first night."

Mickey looked at both men in disbelief. Weren't there more important things to discuss then his adventures (or misadventures) with Rose and the Doctor?

Pete looked over at Jake and gave him a conspiratorial grin which made Mickey inwardly groan, "Convince me that you saved the world with a big yellow truck, and maybe I'd believe you could do it with a blue van."

The left side of Jake's mouth quirked up at that and Mickey knew he had lost. Dropping back down in his seat he sighed and reached for his drink. "I hope that you are willing to keep these coming," he said looking at Pete and indicating the brown liquid. "Because this story isn't a quick and dirty one-off. This story involves the Doctor, his ship," Mickey paused, looking Pete right in the eyes, "and one Rose Tyler."


	2. Chapter 2

Mickey tried not to smirk when Pete pulled back at the mention of Rose's name

Mickey tried not to smirk when Pete pulled back at the mention of Rose's name. He knew the reminder of a woman who was his daughter but not would affect the man. Mickey kept his eyes on Pete, daring him to get up and walk away. He watched as a myriad of emotions played across the man's eyes while his face remained stoic. Finally Pete waved his hand and Mickey took it as a go ahead to continue.

"Rose," Mickey's voice cracked as he said her name. The word came out with more emotion than he was comfortable with. He hadn't mentioned her name since that first night. It wasn't that he didn't think of her, no… the opposite was true. He thought of her often. Daily in fact. The way she would laugh at his jokes when Jake wouldn't, the way her smile would brighten the room, the way she would roll her eyes and kiss him on the cheek when he was being a complete idiot, the way she made him want to be better. No he hadn't forgotten Rose. But it had been easier, here in this world which had no Rose Tyler, to keep his mouth shut and keep her only in his memories.

"Rose," he said, this time the smile of someone remembering a lost love crossing his face, "was one hell of a woman. She made people believe in things, in themselves; it was like she could see the good in a person and focus only on that. Maybe that is what he saw in her," he said taking a drink. He could lose himself in those early memories. Memories of growing up with Rose on the estate, memories of fighting bullies side by side, nights lying under the stars imagining where their lives would take them. Always wanting more and believing with childhood innocence that one day he would be a star football player and she would be a famous designer.

"Neither of us had the fairy tale lives," he smiled cynically then looked directly at Pete. "Rose's father died when she was just a baby."

Pete's eyes dropped, now intent on the glass in front of him as if the liquid held the answers to the world's problems. _Good, _Mickey thought, _you should feel like a wanker for what you did to her. _"My dad up and left me and mum when I was little. Then mum died, leaving my Gran to bring me up." Turning to Jake he added, "She was one of the reasons I stayed, you know. She had died in my...in my original universe. At least here I am able to take care of her."

Jake nodded, "She needed you too, Mickey."

Mickey acknowledged his friend with a nod. He had spent many nights at his Gran's, answering to the name Rickey.

"Problem was," Mickey started again. "My Gran wasn't exactly up to handling me, so Jac..." He cut off noticing the grief that passed over Pete's face. "Rose's mum kinda took me in. Looked after me, made sure I got to school, she did, and walloped me good when she thought I needed it." Mickey couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"Thing was during all that, Rose was there. Taking care of her mum and taking care of me, always dreaming-hoping really-for a better life."

As Mickey elaborated on his life growing up with Rose he noticed Jake gesture for another round. He wondered if getting Pete drunk would be a better solution to his problems. As the next round was served Mickey began to tell the men at the table about the Doctor.

"Never asked him to come into our lives. In fact, the first thing he did after meeting Rose was blow up the department store she worked in. Barely got her out safe too. For some reason after that she became obsessed with old Big Ears."

"Big Ears?" Pete interrupted, a puzzled expression on his face. "He didn't have big ears."

"You're jumping ahead, Mr. Tyler, trust me he had big ears. Kinda sensitive about them too. Couldn't take a joke, that one."

"Sure you were sensitive about that," Jake said sarcastically.

"Oh yeah, totally. The man got me kidnapped, stole my girl, and got me under suspicion for her murder for over year, all within twelve hours of meeting him. So, yeah, I was totally sensitive to his self-image issues."

Jake guffawed, "Murder? What, they forget to come home?"

"You could say that."

"No." Jake's face was a comical shift from disbelief, to shock, then amusement, trying not to laugh he blurted out, Really?"

"Yup, she was gone for a year. Of course, being the boyfriend, I was number one on the list of suspects. And of course her mum wouldn't let up. Telling people around the estate that I had done Rose in and hidden the body somewhere where her poor mother would never have the chance to give her a proper burial."

"Sounds like Jackie," Pete stated, his tone wistful.

"Yeah," Mickey answered, surprised at the sympathy that entered his voice. "She never let up, even when the police cleared me, she made sure that everyone knew that Mickey Smith had killed her daughter. It wasn't like I could go up to her and tell her that her daughter ran off with an alien in a blue box either. Would have had me locked up for that one.

"I researched the Doctor for months after. Learned everything about the man in the blue box who stole my girl and my life. Learned that the circumstances we met him under were not...unusual. In fact, trouble seemed to follow him where ever he went. I was worried about Rose but at the same time I hated her. She'd left me in an alleyway to run off with a dangerous alien thing. So you can imagine how I felt when I saw old Big Ears, in our estate, entering the TARDIS the day an alien ship crashed into Big Ben."

"Big Ben?" Jake blurted, trying to hold back a chuckle.

"Yup, turns out him and Rose had gotten back earlier that day. She had some cock and bull story about her only being gone for a few days of her own time and how I couldn't tell her mum who he really was. Thing is," he said, a huff of air exhaling from his lungs, "she had forgotten about me. It was hours after they arrived that I'd turned up at the flat. I had to go after her; she hadn't even spared me a thought. All I got was a shocked expression and a, "I was going to come to see you." I hated her right then. I hated who I thought she had become after only a few days with Him."

Mickey paused, lost in the memories of that night. He was surprised that even years after the event his emotions were still _so_ raw. She had been his best friend for so many years, only to be brushed aside by The Doctor. It was no wonder he had hated them then.

"And this is the pair you want me to go let you find, Mr. Smith?" Pete asked. "I have to tell you, you're not making a good case."

Mickey sighed, "Maybe I'm not. The thing is, Mr. Tyler, I thought that Rose had stopped caring about all that was important to her and there was one problem with that," Pete looked at him warily, "I was wrong. The Doctor was the best thing that ever happened to me, to us. He asked me to come with him that night, see the stars with Rose and him. But I couldn't. You know why, because I wasn't good enough. Rose had been willing to sacrifice herself that night for the good of the country and what had I done? I ran.

"I knew I wasn't cut out for the life that they led. All that planning we had done as kids was nothing, but Rose, she loved that life. So I watched her leave, with a man who I thought was no good for her. That was something that I told myself I would never do again, but I was coward enough to watch it happen."

"So that's it," Pete interrupted. His voice was hard, as if he had finally understood what Mickey had been after, "you let them run off together, leaving you the bitter betrayed ex back at home. And now you want to go and get her back, take from him what he has already taken from you." Mickey didn't need to look up to see the anger in his boss's eyes. Why couldn't Pete understand that this was more than about him and Rose? What else did Mickey need to say to make him understand that there were only two people in this, or in any other universe, that could fix what was happening? Before he got a chance to interrupt Pete continued, his exasperation with the situation evident in his voice, "What do you want, Mickey? Are you telling me all this so that I'd feel sorry for you and let your jump across universes to go get your girl back? My daughter or not, I'd never..."

"She. Is. Not. Your Daughter." Mickey was out of his seat before he even realized it, the words pouring from his mouth. "You gave up the right to her the moment you turned your back. Don't you understand that all she wanted was to have a dad for one minute? Just one. She had just seen the woman who looked like her mother cyberized, she just wanted one parent to make it better for just a second, just one. But you couldn't even give that to her."

"I had just lost my wife, dammit!" Pete said, his anger rising. "All I had left was a Yorkie, a stupid dog that shared my '_daughter's_' name. What did you expect me to do?"

"I expected you to be the bigger man," Mickey answered not missing a beat.

"Like you were?" the question was flung back at him and Mickey felt himself physically weaken at the accusation.

"No, Pete." Mickey sighed. He had hoped to avoid this confession, but now he realized there was no getting around it. He took large gulp from the glass in front of him, a bit of liquid courage his Gran would call it, before continuing in a more subdued voice. "I wasn't the better man. I hated them both so much, but you know I'd come running the minute she called…bit of a 'tin dog ' you might say."

He smiled sardonically at the joke, both men at his table staring at him in with confusion.

"Went down to Cardiff once to take her her passport; they were traveling with another bloke then. You'd a liked him Jake," he said glancing over at his friend.

"She left me then too. Always leaving, Rose. But she was different now. She'd always cared about people, always been her biggest strength and weakness, but something had changed in her. Figured it was the Doctor, him teaching her all these things she'd always wanted to know, taking her places she wanted to see. She was happier than I ever saw her, and she cared so much about him."

"You see, Pete," He said, looking the older man in the eyes. "I was willing to do anything for her. I let her walk away, let her leave me again in Cardiff, knowing that the life I could give her was one that she didn't deserve. The next time I saw her he'd sent her home. He was off some thousands of years in the future dying, and he'd sent her home to keep her safe. Do you know what the one thing she wanted after getting back to her mum and me? To get back and help him. It was the only thing she could think about. Didn't matter that she'd die too, she wanted to be with him, fighting for the future of a people she didn't even know."

Something Rose had said that day came back to Mickey, something that had finally convinced him to help her get back to her Doctor. "You know Pete, that is what the Doctor does. He shows you a better way to live your life. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away."

Mickey held Pete's gaze, willing the man to understand what he was unable to put into words.

"So, what'd ya do?" Jake's voice cut across the silence and both Mickey and Pete turned toward him.

"I sent her back."

"How?" This time it was Pete, his voice solemn.

"Got a big yellow truck and pulled open his ship."


	3. Chapter 3

You what

You what?" Jake asked, astonished. The glass he was holding hovered partway between the table and his mouth.

"I got a big yellow truck and pulled open his ship," Mickey responded, the grin he had been trying to fight for the past minute breaking through.

"And what did that do?" Pete asked, his anger of a moment ago now forgotten, or set aside.

Mickey shrugged, "Don't know exactly. It sent Rose and the ship back to him. Don't know what happened after all that and I am not sure if even Rose remembers. Only know that when I saw them again it was Christmas and old Big Ears had turned into the pretty boy that you met and even then he had passed out before we could get any information out of him. Rose insisted he was the Doctor though, so we packed him up to the flat. Of course that was when the trouble really started."

"What this time," Pete asked incredulously. "Alien Invasion?"

"Yup."

Mickey laughed as Pete's eyes seemed to grow larger, "You're kidding." The older man asked, stunned that his guess had been correct.

"Nah, huge space ship hovering right over London, people in zombie-like trances standing on roofs ready to jump, mechanic Christmas trees ready to kill, and the Doctor passed out on the bed. I don't know what we would have done without Rose, she held them off long enough for the Doctor to wake up and take control. She was brilliant that day, if I hadn't been there I'd never believe that the same Rose who grew up on the estate was the Rose Tyler that tried to talk the Sycorax out of a world take over," Mickey sat back in the chair, loosing himself in the memories. Early that morning he held Rose as she cried in the TARDIS, begging the ship to bring _her _Doctor back. He had a little glimmer of hope then that she would come back to him. He had thought that since ole Big Ears had gone and left her she'd want to stay home now. That maybe they could have a proper life, no more questions, no more regrets, no more aliens with blue boxes. That hope had been crushed only a few hours later as he stood in the courtyard and watched as Rose took another's hand.

"Rose did what?"

Before he could answer Pete's question, Jake jumped in. "Looks like your daughter was trying to save the world. She seems to have a habit of that, saving worlds."

"Yeah," both Mickey and Pete replied quietly, neither correcting Jake about Rose's relationship to this Pete Tyler.

After a moment Mickey continued, "They left again, always leaving those two. I think Jackie hoped she'd stay, seeing that the Doctor had changed and all, but Rose couldn't stand still, always running, and always with him."

"What I don't understand," Jake interrupted, looking Mickey square in the eye. "Is how you ended up with them. If it was always just Rose and the Doctor why were you with them?"

"After Christmas, I kept my eyes open. There were those who still tried to claim that all the alien encounters were a hoax. The papers, the talk in the pubs, no one seemed to believe it- even when it was right in front of their eyes. Led to them missing other things, strange things happening. I saw them though, and called Rose and the Doctor back."

"Saved the day again, this time with a small blue car," he added with a grin that was met by the other men. "And asked if I could come along. Rose had talked so much about everything she had seen and done, I wanted to try it out myself."

Mickey tried to make that decision seem light, that it had been merely a whim to see the universe with his best friend, but he knew his voice betrayed him.

"Why'd you stay here then, Mickey?" It was Pete, this time. And he had expected him to ask this question. Looking up, Mickey weighed how much he should tell Pete. Seeing the hesitancy in his eyes Pete added. "Mickey, you keep telling me the only way to save this world is to go to another and get Rose and the Doctor, I need to know why. These stories mean nothing if you can't tell me why you left them."

His words hung in the air. Mickey nodded and took a deep breath, "Ya see, Rose taught me so much. That day she went back to save the Doctor she talked about people standing up for what was right. Well, I couldn't seem to do that with them. Turned out they didn't need me to help them save the universe...well at least not that often," he added. "But Jake here, well he needed me. This world needed me. There wasn't a Doctor or a Rose Tyler here, so I figured a Mickey Smith was the next best thing."

He had held Pete's gaze through his confession, but now his gaze faltered and dropped to the table in front of him. It was done now. He had said everything he needed to say, it was up to Pete to make the right decision. He felt a hand on his shoulder and knew immediately it was Jake. He was grateful for his friend's quiet presence and strength.

"Mickey, are you sure this will work? Are you sure that the Doctor is the only one who can fix this? Harriet Jones is promising..."

"Remind me to tell you about Harriet Jones someday, Pete." Mickey said, looking up at his boss. "Am I sure? Yeah, I am. The Doctor is the only one that can fix this. It won't be the politicians, or the scientists, or even Torchwood, it has to be him."

Pete held Mickey's gaze and asked, "Once you are in this other universe, how are you going to find him? Don't expect you could just call him up?"

"Trust me Pete, if there is trouble the Doctor will be there. He's always there right in the thick of it, dragging Rose beside him."

"She must have hated me." Pete's voice was steady, but Mickey could detect a hint of sadness in the man.

Mickey looked at him in confusion. "Who?"

"Rose."

Mickey nodded in understanding, "She didn't hate you. Rose could never hate anyone, not sure it was in her. I hated you though." Mickey added with a grin.

Pete smiled back and Mickey knew he had won.

"Samuel, I need you to check those readings one more time."

"Right away, sir"

Six weeks, it had been six weeks since he hopped over from his universe and there had been no sign of the Doctor. Mickey had been sure with the 'ghosts' around that he and Rose would show up that first day. Days had turned to weeks and now here he was answering to yet another name in another Torchwood.

Jake popped in now and again, along with other members of the recovery team, but Mickey, as mission leader, rarely left. He knew that the idea was insane. There had to be a better way to contact Rose, but the Doctor had left him with her phone when he decided to stay in the new universe. There had been countless times he had been ready to call Jackie, only to have Jake remind him what was at stake. Then today, during the one hour he had popped over to his universe to update Pete, there had been visitors.

Oh, no one had said who they were, in fact no one was saying much of anything. He had sent a message to Jake to check it out, hoping his friend would understand the urgency. There had been nothing else but to wait. If it was the Doctor and Rose they would be sure to find their way back into this room.

He heard the doors to the room open, but paid them no mind instead concentrating on the numbers in front of him. He knew what was in that sphere, he had been chasing them for far too long now and it was only a matter of time before he destroyed the machines again.

Finishing with the check of the numbers, he started to pick up bits of the conversation taking place behind him. His heart soared when he heard the voice and he was ready to turn around to greet Rose, but the short-lived hope died when the woman identified herself as a personnel employee. He knew it had been too much to hope that the visitors had been the Doctor and Rose. Turning back to his work he tried to tune out the conversation when he heard his boss add, "That's lucky. You see, everyone at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training. This paper is blank. And you're a fake. Seal the room. Call security. Samuel? Can you check the door locks? She just walked right in."

Holding back his grin, Mickey turned around, "Doing it now, sir."

Catching Rose's gape of astonishment his grin widened, it was time to show her exactly what a tin dog could do.


End file.
